Chapter Six
A week later Nick was typing away at work. Her staff had all been really sweet about her injuries and she had been touched to find flowers and chocolates on her desk on Tuesday. As suspected, nothing beyond her bike was broken, and whilst her bruising was spectacular, she had stopped limping and had even started running again by Wednesday. Max had been as good as her word and had sent Nick footage of the accident. It made for grim watching but Nick was tempted to join them on their next ride out. Maybe she would try to be friendlier to that guy. She could have misjudged him.
Her phone buzzed and she saw that it was Cressida from Financial Focus . After the last article, Nick had suggested that the magazine write a feature about companies that also had charitable endeavours. She wanted the whole business community to see the benefits to themselves as well as the recipients if they engaged more in outreach programmes. It was a longshot but worth a try.
Nick wasn’t one for small talk and liked to get things done quickly so that she could move on. Efficiency in all things was the way to get ahead. Tapping the loudspeaker on the phone she placed the phone on the desk and carried on typing.
‘Morning, Cressida. Is this about the article?’
‘Sort of. Can you take me off loudspeaker?’
Nick stopped typing and looked at her phone in surprise and picked up the handset.
‘All right. I’m all ears, what’s up? ’
‘I’ve heard a bit of a rumour.’
Nick’s ears pricked up. Cressida didn’t tend to share gossip or rumours – if she was now, this had to be something major.
‘It’s about De Foix Investments. The FCA is preparing for an investigation.’
Nick had always considered the term blood running cold, a silly piece of poetic licence but how else to describe the sense of utter dread that now grabbed her? An investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority could mean the kiss of death to a business. Sure, they were supposed to be confidential before they gave their judgement, but in the City? Not a hope. By the start of a lunch hour, a nudge could have become a rumour, and by the end of the day all of Canary Wharf would treat it as gospel.
The FCA policed the financial world and were at the heart of every recent trading scandal. They had the power to temporarily suspend trading privileges, revoke trading licences, and prepare cases for criminal prosecutions resulting in fines and prison terms.
‘Nick, are you still there?’
‘Sorry yes. I. Sorry, that caught me off guard. I wonder where the hell that rumour came from?’
‘Ugh. You know. Everyone likes a good gossip, especially against someone who’s doing well. Obviously, there’s nothing in it. It’s not like they actually start investigations without evidence.’
Cressida’s simple words started to calm Nick down. Her entire career had been squeaky clean, it wasn’t in her nature to play fast and loose with interpretations of the law. As far as she was concerned if you needed to bend or break the law then you weren’t up to the mark.
‘No, that’s true. Still, it’s enough to make you feel queasy. Thanks for the heads-up…’
Nick’s voice trailed off as she watched two strangers walk towards the reception desk at the front of the office. The two men were both in their fifties and looked like they could do with a few more meals, a good tailor and some basic love in their lives. If she couldn’t already tell who they were, the reaction of Jimmy on the reception desk said it all. He almost recoiled as they introduced themselves, then looked over to her office with a worried expression. Nick recovered quickly – she couldn’t let Cressida know that there was truth to the rumour. She might be a friend, but she was also the editor of the most popular financial magazine in the City.
‘Anyway, I’d better get back to work. Thanks again. Bye.’
Certainly, it was more abrupt than she wished but she needed to get out to reception as fast as possible. Opening her door she walked out to the middle of the office space where the two men had stopped. They were about to speak to the workforce and Nick hurried to cut them off.
‘Gentlemen, welcome. Would you like to come through to my office? Tea, coffee?’
She smiled as much for their benefit as for the staff – even the hint of an investigation was likely to spook the horses. Nick knew she was innocent of any malfeasance. A quick chat should clear things up and scotch any further rumours.
‘Nick Byrne? ’
Nick smiled and nodded, she didn’t like his tone and wondered how bad this was about to get.
‘My name is Paul Clements, and this is my colleague Benjamin Gervase.’
Benjamin smiled and she revised her opinion about him not having enough love in his life. The way his eyes gleamed right now told her that he was doing what he loved the most. Watching people sweat. That said, he remained silent as his colleague continued.
‘We are from the FCA. Following a recent discovery we are investigating De Foix Investments for irregular practices.’
There was a sudden hubbub of noise as the staff broke out into shouts of protest. Nick smiled weakly; so much for trying to keep things low key. Still, it was nice to have the support of her workforce.
‘I have worked for Nick for over a year and if you find so much as a trace of irregularity you can feed me to the hippos.’
Normally, Gyeong’s overly dramatic statements made Nick laugh but right now she was struggling to keep it together. She knew they would find no evidence of wrongdoing but even their arrival could create damage. As she quickly glanced around the room, she wondered which of her staff would resign in the next few months. In a set-up as small as hers, scandal had a habit of smearing everyone’s reputations, she wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting to steer clear of that. Clearing her throat, she returned her attention to Mr Clements.
‘Surely you don’t investigate every rumour that snakes around the City? Why have you chosen to visit me? ’
‘As you say, we don’t investigate rumour we investigate solid tip-offs.’
For a second Nick was genuinely baffled. She had done nothing wrong so how could there be a tip-off strong enough for the FCA to investigate? In the silence Mr Clements continued to talk as Mr Gervase continued to smile.
‘All staff must stop working as of now. We will be running a full digital and paper investigation of all transactions for the past twelve months. I have here the details of the scope of our investigations. Should we find evidence of the allegations we will then proceed to court.’
For a nanosecond Nick felt weak, everything that she had built up in the past ten years was being attacked. The suggestion of impropriety made her feel ill but the idea that these two men and their team would now be rifling through her accounts and transactions made her feel violated. She took a deep breath; she had never once run from a fight.
‘Ayesha and Milo work on the charitable side of the business, they aren’t involved in any deals. Presumably, they can carry on working?’
Finally, Mr Gervase spoke. ‘No, we are investigating every aspect of the business. If we find dirt in one corner who knows what else it will have infected?’
Nick wished he’d kept his mouth shut. Clearly he wasn’t here to play nice.
‘How long will this take?’
‘A few weeks, a few months. It depends on what we find. ’
‘Nothing. You will find nothing.’ Nick was beginning to lose her rag. ‘Look, this is ridiculous. What are my staff supposed to do? What am I supposed to tell my clients?’
‘That is not our concern. We are here simply to ensure that justice is done,’ replied Mr Clements.
‘And what about justice for me? This could ruin my business.’
‘Then just tell your clients you have decided to take a holiday.’
Mr Clements tilted his head and turned to his colleague. ‘She could say she was unwell and taking a leave of absence?’ The two men grinned at each other, then turned back to Nick, both with the same vulpine expression. She looked at them in disbelief.
‘Holiday? Illness? I may as well tell them all I’m being investigated by the FCA.’
‘Yes. We usually find the truth can be difficult for people being investigated of fraud.’
Nick ground her teeth and shoved her hands in her pockets. That stapler was within chucking distance and she was currently entertaining a pleasant vision of stapling his tie to his forehead.
‘This is nothing to smile about,’ admonished Mr Gervase.
***
The next few hours were indeed nothing to smile about. Nick had promised the staff full pay during the length of the investigation on the condition that no one spoke about it. They were going to run with the nonsense that Nick had taken a leave of absence due to family matters. It stank but it was better than nothing. Nick had negotiated that for the next few days the staff could tie up loose ends or delay projects so long as no financial transactions took place. She herself would pursue the outstanding issues so long as no money changed hands.
The next step was to call her clients and let them know that she was taking a short rest. She recommended a small company that she trusted and had already explained her predicament to them. Some of her clients decided to move to the small company, others preferred to wait until Nick returned. Every phone call made her feel weaker and weaker. Finally, in dread, she called her main client.
‘Ari, I’m in trouble.’
As Nick poured out the whole sorry mess Ari listened, only jumping in when she didn’t fully understand something.
‘And they have the power to do this? Just pull the rug straight out from under you?’
‘Yes. And it makes sense. If someone is embezzling their clients, then you need to stop them instantly, before they can steal any more or destroy any evidence.’
‘But you haven’t done anything wrong!’
‘But everyone says that. Too much trust in the financial institutions is what caused the last banking crisis. Nowadays they pounce at the first sniff of two twigs being rubbed together.’
‘But what smoke is there? What evidence have they seen? For God’s sake, it was you that warned the City of Harrington’s problems. ’
‘You know what we say in the industry. Past performance is not a predictor of future gain. Looks like I’m being treated as a perfect example of that maxim. Anyway, we have a few decisions to make. I can’t touch the Hiverton funds. I have been recommending my smaller clients move temporarily to Long Acre Investments or wait until I return. But Hiverton is too large an account for Long Acre to handle. I recommend simply pausing everything, although we might take a financial hit if the market does something and I can’t move money around.’
‘That’s not important right now. You are.’
Nick kissed her teeth. How like Ari to say that money wasn’t important. Nick knew she meant well but money was the lifeblood of the estate, without it everything would fall apart. She hated suggesting that the account lie dormant but what else could she do?
‘Have you called Geoffrey?’ asked Ari.
‘Are you mad?’
‘Why not? Don’t you trust him?’
‘Of course I trust him. It’s not that.’
‘What is it then?’
Nick paused and looked at the ceiling. In the silence Ari carried on. ‘Don’t tell me it’s because you’re embarrassed.’
For the first time all day Nick lost her temper.
‘Embarrassed? Are you insane? Of course I’m not embarrassed. I’m mortified . I have somehow failed to protect my business, my staff and my clients. I have revealed myself to be open to attack. Embarrassment is for when you break wind in a lift. I’ve just defecated all over the floor!’
‘There’s no need to be vulgar. ’
‘Vulgar!’ Nick shouted down the phone. What the hell was Ari doing chiding her for impropriety? Her world was falling apart, and Ari had decided to get prudish. ‘Look, I’ve got too much to do. I’ll call you later when I think of a suggestion.’
Hanging up she headed into the kitchen and made a cup of tea. Her hands were shaking, and she was aware that even she may have drunk too much coffee today.
Taking a few deep breaths she began to wash and dry the cups on the sideboard and wiped down the surfaces. She emptied the contents of the fridge into the bin and switched it off. In the silence she leant her head against the window, the cool glass helping her focus as she watched the lights from the other office blocks and cars below – London was so pretty in the dark. She wasn’t sure how long she had watched the lights moving but her phone startled her and as she pulled back from the window, she could see a red patch on her forehead reflected back at her.
‘Hello?’
‘Nicoletta? It’s Geoffrey Flint-Hyssop.’
Nick pursed her lips. When she next saw Ari she was going to kill her.
‘Ari has explained everything, or as such as she understood. Tell me what’s happened.’
Geoffrey listened in silence as Nick went through the whole debacle.
‘Okay. This is bad. They don’t act this decisively unless they are confident of success. That said they have been known to overreact. When we were investigated— ’
Nick cut him off. The thought that Geoffrey had gone through this was astonishing. ‘You were investigated?’
‘Oh yes, welcome to the club. The trick now is damage limitation. All the big players have been investigated at some time or another. You’re smaller than their normal targets for an investigation of this size, which is a worry, but we can sort this out.’
Nick realised how much she liked the word ‘we’. Geoffrey continued.
‘With your permission, I’ll take over the Hiverton account until you are able to take charge of it. Who’s handling your smaller accounts?’
Geoffrey muttered approvingly as Nick mentioned the small firm.
‘Good choice. If you want, I can liaise with Simon at Long Acre in the morning, offer help if he’s uncertain with the direction you were going with any of the accounts.’
Nick let out a huge sigh of relief, her clients were so important to her. They trusted her with their hard-earnt money and she had been fretting that her change in circumstances would impact on their financial health. She had every faith in Simon and Long Acre, they were sure and steady, but they didn’t have the flair or acumen that she or Geoffrey had. Growth might be down until she was back in charge, but with Geoffrey’s subtle guidance, no one should lose any money.
‘Now,’ he continued, ‘which lawyers have you instructed?’
‘I don’t need a lawyer. I’m innocent. ’
‘You might be innocent, but you are also stupid if you think you can get through this without legal representation. I’ll get someone to call you in a minute. Right, I think that’s it for now. You probably have a thousand questions or will have over the next few days. Call me each and every time. The City needs more people like you. Now go home and find something else to do. The next few weeks will drive you insane if you don’t have a project. I learnt Latin ballroom dancing.’
As he hung up Nick chuckled. The very idea of Geoffrey in lycra was ridiculous. The man was always impeccably dressed in a pinstripe suit with a pocket fob watch and umbrella, all he was missing was the top hat. The idea of him in sequins made Nick snort in the silence of the kitchen and with a small sigh she turned out the lights and headed home.